Abstract
This article concerns artistic development within the context of a Master of Fine Arts
program in visual arts in Sweden, and presents an empirical study based on repeated
interviews with a group of art students. The aim is to contribute to our present understanding
of artistic development by focusing on changes in the relation between the student and his/her
artistic work as part of their artistic development. The study describes and analyzes the
character of these changes, within the theoretical frame of phenomenographic research on learning. The notion of 'resting assured' is used to describe the main characteristic of
the qualitative change found in the relation between the student and his/her artistic work.
To 'rest assured' refers to a state of trust in their own ability that the students develop.
Findings are discussed from an educational theoretical perspective, emphasizing the connection
between self-direction and resting assured.